The Ties That Bind
by ColorOfAngels
Summary: Rey's mission was, in theory, quite simple. Go to Ahch-To and find the last Jedi. But what she found there was so much more. A Rey Skywalker Story.
1. Ties That Bind Part 1

A/N Ahhhhh it's a new story in a new fandom! Because I have poor impulse control! But I've been picking away at a couple Star Wars stories for awhile now and I decided to go ahead and start posting... If you're here because you follow my other stories in other fandoms I love you, and thank you for giving this one a chance and if you're a completely new reader for me WELCOME! And I sincerely hope you all enjoy it!

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The wind whistled around her, blowing escaped strands of hair in her face as she stood in front of the mythical last Jedi, holding his father's lightsaber out in front of her as an offering. He brought his hands, one flesh, one mechanical, up and lowered the hood that had been obscuring his face. The moment stretched out for long silent minutes, but despite his soul-penetrating gaze, Rey held firm. She was good at waiting.

"How?" The question burst suddenly from the Jedi's chest as if against his own volition, his voice rough from disuse.

It wasn't how she was expecting him to break their standoff; frankly, she didn't know what she was expecting. But she supposed the question made sense, after all, what else was there to ask?

"Maz Kanata had it on Takodana," Rey explained, not lowering the weapon. "I don't know how she got it."

"No," Luke shook his head sharply, pushing out another question. "How are _you_ here?"

"Oh, I found the map you left behind," she explained, the fierce intensity with which he was looking at her making her uneasy, but she kept her chin lifted high, refusing to be cowed. "Well," she amended, "it's more that I found the BB unit who happened to have the map. It was the Resistance who were actually looking for it. Looking for you."

He took half a step in her direction. "You're supposed to be dead."

Rey lowered the lightsaber and her defensive instincts kicked in as she matched his pace, taking a half step back, keeping the distance between them the same. " _Excuse me_?"

"I felt you die," he continued, his voice thick with an old pain. "I felt it as your life essence was ripped from the Force."

"Wait… I- What?" she asked, eyes wide with confusion.

Luke slowly began closing the space between them and this time Rey allowed him to advance, although her body remained tense and poised to act.

He stopped just a few feet in front of her.

"Reyssa." The name tumbled from his lips like a benediction.

"Rey," she corrected automatically.

Luke nodded, he would call her whatever she wanted. " _Rey_ ," he repeated. He brought his flesh hand up slowly, telegraphing his movements, taking the same care not to spook her as he would a wild creature. "I knew something had happened, I felt an awakening in the Force. I knew someone was coming, but I never dreamed that it could ever possibly be you."

"How do you know me?" she asked, searching his face with the same intensity he was searching hers.

His palm landed soft and warm against her cheek. "How could I not know my own daughter?"

Rey couldn't hold back the gasp that escaped her throat, or calm her heart which was thundering wildly in her chest. But before she even begin to formulate a response, she found herself in the circle of his arms, pressed into his chest as he held her tight. She was frozen stiff and for half a moment she thought to pull away, but before she could an inexplicable feeling of rightness washed over her, warming her from the inside out and she found herself relaxing and drawing further into his embrace instead.

The lightsaber slipped heedlessly from her fingers, coming to a tumbling stop a few feet away as she brought her arms up to return the hug, her hands gripping at the back of his robes. He smelled of salt from the sea and something earthy and wild. Power radiated from him, swirling dangerously around them both, but she was safe in the eye of the storm even as she trembled, overwhelmed by it all.

All those long and lonely years on Jakku, waiting for her family to return and find her. If only she'd known all that time, that if she wanted her family she would have to go and find it herself.

"How?" she asked, her face tucked into his shoulder.

Luke pulled back enough that he could see her face. "I asked that question first," he replied teasingly, even as his eyes were damp and swirling with emotion. "Come, let's go inside and see if we can't figure out the answer. Are you hungry?" he asked, one arm still wrapped around her shoulders as he led her back down the mountain towards the hut he had made his home.

"Wait," Rey interjected, looking over her shoulder, "the lightsaber."

"Oh," Luke paused. With the miraculous appearance of his daughter after fourteen years of believing her dead, he'd barely given the weapon a sparing glance. Calling it with the Force he looked at the weapon for a long moment. With a small nod, which was more for himself than for Rey, he put the saber back into her hands. "Hold onto it," he told her. "It's yours now. At least until you build one of your own."

"Alright," she said a little stunned as she clipped the saber to her belt. Nothing so far had gone as she'd expected, and despite it being better than she ever could have imagined, she felt like she was back on Jakku, walking up a steep dune with the sand slipping out from beneath her feet with each step she took. Like it had so often lately, her world had once again spun on its axis and she was left trying to reorient herself.

"I have thuttle fish soup simmering," Luke mentioned as he motioned for Rey to enter his home first. "Do you like that?"

"I've never had it," she replied, taking in her surrounding, not sure what to do with herself once she was inside.

"Thuttle fish?" he asked.

"Fish," she said generally with a negligent shrug, "that's a water animal right? Actually, I've never had soup either," she added, idly running her fingers over a roughly hewn table.

Luke frowned behind Rey's back as he carefully ladled up two servings of soup into carved wooden bowls. As a little girl she had loved to dig up worms and go fishing in the lake behind the Jedi temple. He and her mother used to marvel at the patience she showed even as small child, waiting until she got a nibble and proudly bringing home her catch, no matter how small, to be served with her dinner. He had joked that she would excel at meditation once he began her training, but his wife had countered with the idea that she was unknowingly using the Force to urge the fish to bite before the little girl could get too bored. Regardless, the idea of his daughter not even being sure what fish were any more concerned him.

"Where have you been all these years?" he couldn't stop himself from asking as he placed the bowls on the table and gestured for her to sit.

"Jakku," she told him, sniffing the meal in front of her.

"The junkyard planet?!"

"That's how Han said it too," Rey mentioned, experimentally dipping the tip of her finger into the broth and sucking it off her skin. It was saltier than she had been expecting, but not unpleasantly so.

"Han… he's-"

"Gone," she confirmed, a shadow of grief passing over her face. "I only knew him a few days, but…" she trailed off not entirely sure how she was planning on finishing that sentence. Nothing she could say would be adequate to express how she'd felt about that man she'd only just learned was her uncle, even after such a brief period of time.

"I saw the Falcon land," Luke admitted as he picked up his spoon and gave his soup an absent stir while he waited for it to cool enough to eat. "I knew he wasn't on it." He'd felt the death of his brother in law and the sorrow of his sister echo through the Force a few weeks ago.

"The General gave her to me," Rey explained, watching him from under her eyelashes, also picking up her spoon and mimicking his actions. It was something she had begun doing in the few weeks she'd spent on D'Qar, picking up social mores from observing others. "She said it's what he would have wanted."

"I'm sure she's right. Did Han find you on Jakku?" he asked, still wanting to know exactly how his daughter had found her way to him.

"No, he found the Millennium Falcon," she shrugged. "Finn and I just happened to be on it after we stole it from Unkar Plutt to escape the First Order."

Luke blinked. There was a lot of information in that one sentence. He wasn't sure where to start. "Why was the First Order after you?" he asked, since that seemed as good a place to begin as any.

"Because they saw me with Finn who was a Stormtrooper that had just deserted and Beebee-Ate who they knew had the map to you," she explained. "They weren't actually after me specifically, but I was guilty by association."

"So you stole the Falcon with a Stormtrooper and a droid," he repeated, trying to reconcile what she was telling him.

"Finn is an _ex_ -Stormtrooper," Rey said firmly, wanting no misunderstanding between them. "And he's my friend."

"Maybe you should start at the beginning," Luke suggested gently, as he began to eat his dinner, since every new bit of information she revealed only left him with more questions.

And so she did. She began with the moment BB-8 first crossed her path, all the way through to R2-D2 coming out of low-power mode to complete the rest of the map and General Organa charging her with coming to find him. While she spoke, she slowly made her way through the bowl in front of her. She wasn't actually hungry, having shared a meal with Chewie shortly before landing, but she'd spent too many years knowing the constant gnaw of hunger to turn down a perfectly good meal sitting in front of her.

"So let me get this straight," Luke began slowly, when she finished retelling the adventure that had brought her to Ahch-To. "Somehow the map I left behind found its way to the same backwater desert planet that you were living on, as well as your Uncle's prized ship that had been sitting in a junkyard for years." He didn't mention the battle with her cousin or Han's death, not ready to discuss either event yet.

"When you put it that way, it does sound rather farfetched," Rey muttered under her breath, frowning into her empty bowl.

"No more farfetched then my uncle buying the R2 unit that happened to be carrying the plans to the Death Star and a message from my twin sister who I didn't even know existed," Luke countered, reaching across the table to lay a comforting hand on top of hers. "The Force works in mysterious ways."

"I never used to believe in the Force," she admitted, eyes still cast down, looking like she expected to be scolded for her confession. "I didn't believe in fate."

"You don't have to believe in it, when it believes in you," the Jedi Master replied enigmatically. "The Force surrounds us and guides us, even when we don't know how to listen."

Sensing that Rey was feeling rather overwhelmed, he gave her hand another small pat before standing from his chair. Picking up both their bowls, he took them to the sink to rinse them, allowing her time and at least a modicum of privacy to process. While he was up, he went ahead and stoked the fire, making sure the stone dwelling would stay warm against the cold wind that came off the ocean in the evenings.

"Would you like some tea?" he offered. When she simply looked at him like she didn't know how she was supposed to answer, he spoke again. "I'm going to make myself some, and you may have a cup as well if you decide you want to."

By the time the tea was made Rey seemed more at ease again, or at least not as overwhelmed as before. Luke went ahead and poured her a cup of tea in addition to his own and placed it on the table in front of her. Cradling his mug between his hands, he watched as she tentatively took a sip from her own, a small furrow developing between her eyebrows as she tasted it.

"You don't have to drink it if you don't like it," he told her gently. "I won't mind."

"No, it's not that," she replied quickly. "It's just, I find the whole practice strange," she admitted honestly.

"What practice?" Luke asked, his head tilted curiously.

"On Jakku one of the most precious things you could get your hands on was fresh clean water," she explained. "It was a luxury that you savored when you could get it. Even more so if it was actually cold. So the idea of taking clean water and then putting something else into it to change the taste… It's just odd to me."

It was something she'd found just as puzzling back on D'Qar. Where everyone seemed to treat water as a last resort when it came to choosing a beverage with their meals.

"Would you prefer a glass of water?" he offered, feeling bad for not anticipating this.

"No, this is fine," Rey insisted, drawing the mug in closer to her, like she was afraid he might forcibly take it away from her.

Luke didn't press the issue, but filed away the information for later. Having grown up on a desert planet himself he should have known. But he'd been one of the lucky ones, living on a moderately successful moisture farm had meant that he'd never gone without. Not like his daughter.

"How did you end up on Jakku in the first place?" he asked, getting back to their earlier conversation.

Rey shrugged as she took another sip of her tea. "I don't know," she admitted. "My first memory is running after a shuttle as it was taking off. I don't even know who was on the ship, I just knew I had to wait on Jakku for them to come back for me."

"So you don't remember me at all?" Luke asked, trying to keep his expression neutral.

Rey shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry. No." She didn't have the heart to tell him that until she'd been told of what BB-8 was carrying, she had actually thought he was nothing more than a myth.

"It's okay," he assured her. "You were very young when you were left on Jakku. It's to be expected."

"I feel like I should, though," she mentioned. "Whenever I try to remember anything before watching that shuttle leave, it's just blank. It's not the same feeling as when you forget where you left your favorite hyper-spanner. It's more like the blinding burn of the light when you step out into the desert after spending hours inside a dark star destroyer."

"Interesting," Luke murmured. He looked at the young woman across the table for a moment consideringly before speaking again. "With your permission, I'd like to try something."

"Try what?" Rey asked, before agreeing.

"I'd like to look into your mind," he told her. "To see if I can find your memories of that day. Hopefully we can get a better picture of how it came to be that you were left on Jakku while I believed you were dead."

"Alright," she consented quickly, not even having to think about it. She'd wanted answers to those questions for as long as she could remember.

"Come," he requested, standing from the table, crossing the short distance to the pallet he used as his bed, before sitting down cross-legged, motioning for her to do the same. Once she had settled in much the same position, he held out his hands in invitation.

"Is it going to hurt?" she asked curiously, not hesitating to place her hands in his. She wouldn't back down from the pain, but she just wanted to steel herself.

"Of course not," Luke assured her quickly, taken aback at the question. "I would never have suggested it if it was going to hurt you."

Rey shrugged, "It hurt when Kylo Ren did it."

"I'm sure that was his intention," he replied, looking at her with sad eyes. "Now, close your eyes and empty your mind."

Rey did as he asked and it wasn't long before she felt him pressing into her mind. It wasn't what she had been expecting at all. When Kylo Ren tried to force his way into her thoughts it felt cold and slimy and dark. He had punched his way forcefully into her mind without her consent and it was all she could do to fight him off as long as possible. But this was entirely different. His mind brushed up against hers gently, as if asking for permission, and when she opened her thoughts to his it was like a warm light infusing her from the inside out.

Once he had access to her mind, Luke started digging. Her most recent adventures were of course right at the forefront and he tried to pass through them quickly as he moved backwards through her memories.

Their own reunion at the top of the mountain.

Leia embracing Rey, both of them brimming with grief.

A lightsaber battle fought in the falling snow.

Her connection with the Force reigniting within her in the basement of Maz Kanata's castle.

Battling Tie-Fighters at the helm of the Millennium Falcon.

Rescuing a small droid from a scavenger.

Long hot days.

Longer lonely nights.

An aching hunger which never went away.

Sand.

Sand.

Sand.

Once he reached a memory where Rey looked just as he last saw her he stopped. Just as she had told him she was running after a shuttle. But what she hadn't mentioned was that she had been screaming and crying for it to come back, while some bulbous creature roughly dragged her away.

He tried to go back further but came across a wall, just as Rey had described. Under his constant and insistent pressure he managed to push through it.

Luke had to force himself not to accidentally pull out of Rey's mind when he saw his wife kneeling in the sand in front of his distraught five year old daughter.

" _I'm so sorry sweetheart, but this is only temporary,_ " _she said trying to console the little girl. "You just shine too bright, my little Rey of sunshine. You're a beacon and I can't let them find you."_

 _She placed her hands over her daughter's temples, gently kissed her forehead, and told her to close her eyes. The little girl cried out in pain after a moment and when she opened them again she was dazed and confused._

" _What-"_

 _But she wasn't done. "You have to stay here," she told Rey forcefully. "Stay here until someone comes for you."_

" _I have to stay here until someone comes for me," Rey parroted back._

" _And know that no matter what, your family loves you," she told her daughter, a single tear rolling down her face. She embraced her tightly, before standing and running back towards the shuttle they'd arrived on, not looking back._

 _Rey tried to follow, screaming for her mother not to leave her, begging her to come back. But Unkar Plutt grabbed her arm and dragged her away._

Luke pulled them out of Rey's memory and they were both left gasping.

"Was that-?"

"That was your mother," he confirmed, inhaling deeply when he realized he was going to have to explain the memory to her. "Do you know about the attack on the Jedi Academy?"

Rey nodded, "Some." Han had explained some of it and she'd been able to fill in some of the holes on her own.

Luke was grateful he didn't have to relive it. "You and your mother were there that night," he told her, "but she managed to escape with you in the chaos. The First Order was still after you both, and from what I just saw, she left you Jakku to hide you, she blocked your connection to the Force so that other Force users wouldn't be able to sense you."

"Is that why you thought I died?" Rey asked, starting to form a picture of what had happened to her.

Luke swallowed hard and nodded, remembering that awful day where he had felt the light of all of his students get snuffed out one by one. When the light in the Force that was his daughter, disappeared soon after he could only come to one conclusion. "When you found my old lightsaber it must have brought those blocks down. That's why I could feel you in the Force again."

"When she told me to stay on Jakku until someone came for me," she hesitated for a moment before finishing her question, "that was a Force suggestion wasn't it?"

Luke nodded again. "You were so little, I'm sure she didn't want you wandering off before she could come back for you or before she could tell someone where you were."

Rey supposed that made a lot of sense. It explained her insistence over the years that she had to stay on Jakku. And the fact that against all evidence to the contrary, she was sure that it was only a matter of time before her family came back for her.

"Why didn't she come back for me?" she asked, already fairly sure that she knew the answer. The mournful look on her father's face only confirmed it.

"Not long after what I thought was your death, I felt her pass as well," he confirmed.

"Are you sure?" she asked with a pang of hope. "If I'm still alive, maybe-"

Luke shook his head. "Her shuttle was shot down by the First Order, we recovered her body. When you weren't found with her, we thought…" he trailed off. It didn't matter what he thought at the time any more.

Neither of them spoke again for several long minutes, before Rey inhaled sharply, steeling herself to ask a question she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know the answer to.

"If you had known I was on Jakku, would you have come for me?" she asked, eyes cast down as she picked at a loose thread in the knee of her pants.

Luke reached out to cup her chin, gently lifting her face waiting patiently until she met his gaze, he wanted her to see in his eyes how serious he was when he replied. "Reyssa... Rey," he corrected himself. "If I had had even the slightest hint that you were still alive, I would have torn apart the galaxy until I found you."

She couldn't help it, she burst into tears. Rey had always considered crying to be a waste of the hydration her body so desperately needed, and had trained herself out of the practice at a young age when she realized that tears would not bring her family back. But after fourteen years of waking up each morning with the hope that that day would be the day her family would come for her, that each mark she scratched into the side of her home would be the last, only to go to sleep each night disappointment settling heavy in her chest, finally hearing that her father would have come for her, had he only known that she was alive. It was just too much.

If Luke was surprised by her emotional outburst, he quickly recovered. He didn't try to tell her not to cry, because she was owed her tears. He didn't try to tell her that everything was alright, because nothing that she had gone through was alright. Instead he simply pulled the young woman into his arms, and let her cry into his shoulder as he gently rubbed circles onto her back and hummed tunelessly into her ear. It was the same thing he would do to sooth her nightmares when she small or comfort her after a skinned knee.

She cried for the lost years of her childhood, stolen from her. She cried for the family now dead that she would never know. She cried for the family that had thought her dead and had spent the last fourteen years mourning her. She cried for the life she was forced to live and what they could have had instead. She cried until she had no more tears to give and if Luke let a few tears of his own fall, well, there was no one there to see it.

Eventually her tears slowed, and her breathing evened out as she fell into an exhausted sleep. Grabbing the pillow from the head of the bed, he put in on his lap and gently lowered Rey onto it before using the Force to drape a blanket over her so that she would be more comfortable. Gently, he pulled the leather cords from her hair and combed the tangles out with his fingers, taking great care not wake her.

He knew that he needed his rest as well, but he couldn't bear to close his eyes. He had his daughter back and he couldn't take his eyes off of her. Instead, he just watched her sleep, running his fingers through her hair, late into the night.

When Luke woke up the next morning, stiff and sore from sleeping sitting upright, there was a single terrifying moment when he realized he was alone in the hut where he thought that the day before was a dream. That his daughter had not come back from the dead for him, and he was once again alone on the island. Using the Force he reached out and quickly found her, a weight lifting off his chest. She was safe and close by, her emotions calm, but contemplative. She was also cold.

Climbing to his feet he found his spare cloak before throwing his own over his shoulders to ward of the chill that settled over the island in the cool Ahch-To mornings. It wasn't hard to find his wayward girl, she hadn't gone far, she had wandered to the edge of the mostly abandoned village and was perched on a large boulder overlooking the ocean. She had her knees drawn up to her chest, and her arms wrapped around her bare shins in a futile effort to keep warm, but she didn't seem to be overly put off by the cold, at least not enough to go back inside to sit beside the fire, despite the fact that he could see her shivering from where he stood.

Luke knew that he didn't make any sound as he approached, but Rey didn't seem surprised when he draped the heavy fabric over her shoulders. Instead she simply smiled gratefully up at her father as she drew the robe tighter around her.

"You're up early," he said, settling next to her on the rock.

"I'm used to waking up with the sun," she explained with a shrug. "Get the most out of the day, also get out to the graveyard before it got too hot to travel."

Luke just nodded, his upbringing on Tatooine having taught him the importance of taking advantage of the cooler parts of the day on a desert world.

They fell into a comfortable silence watching and listening to the water break against the rocks beneath them. He could sense that there was something she wanted to say, but he gave her the time to find the words.

"Do you think that even though I couldn't remember you and you couldn't feel me," Rey began after some time, "that we still could have been connected somehow?"

"Why do you ask?" Luke asked curiously, turning to look at Rey, who was still looking far out at the water.

"I used to dream about this place. Wait no, that's not right," she shook her head to herself. "I wasn't sleeping, the opposite actually. Sometimes back on Jakku, on nights I couldn't sleep, when the hunger was too much to ignore and I felt even more alone in the galaxy than usual, I would close my eyes tight and I would be here," Rey confessed. "I just always thought it was my mind coming up with the exact opposite of a decaying AT-AT in the middle of the desert, because I couldn't imagine there could actually be this much water anywhere in the galaxy, but it was definitely this island."

Luke considered this for a long moment. "Through the Force, anything is possible," he finally said.

Rey side eyed her father,"You said that before."

"No," he shook his head. "I said the Force works in mysterious ways."

"Isn't that basically the same thing?"

"You'll learn the difference, in time," he told her enigmatically.

"Does that mean that you'll teach me?" Rey asked, her voice both cautious and hopeful. "How to be a Jedi?"

"I'll teach you anything you want to know." Luke didn't hesitate, despite the fact he'd sworn years ago to never take another padawan. But when Rey finally turned his direction, beaming brightly, he knew meant his promise. He laid a gentle hand in the middle of her back between her shoulder blades. "But no one is becoming a Jedi before breakfast, so let's go back inside and eat."

Neither of them spoke much as they walked back towards Luke's hut and as he prepared their breakfast, but it wasn't awkward. Both of them used to their solitude, and neither of them felt the need to fill the silence between them. Now that they had found each other, there would be plenty of time for conversation later.

"I'm going back to D'Qar," Rey announced unceremoniously, halfway through the bowl of porridge that had been set in front of her. "Are you coming with me?"

Luke froze, his spoon stopped halfway from his bowl to his mouth. "When?"

"Today," she answered, still eating, seemingly oblivious to his hesitance. "I need to get back to the Resistance."

With a small frown he placed his spoon back in the bowl. "We should begin your training here at the temple."

"We could begin my training back on base," she countered, shoveling another spoonful into her mouth. "The sooner we're back, the better."

"The resistance has survived this long without us-"

Rey shook her head. "I need to get back to Finn," she interjected.

"The Stormtrooper?"

"My friend," she corrected. "Before I left, I promised that I would be back."

"And you will be, but you would be better served by-"

"No," she interrupted again, looking up from her breakfast to look her father in the eye. "Finn came for me when I was taken by Kylo Ren. Even though he was terrified of being recaptured by the First Order, even though the last place in the galaxy he wanted to be, was back on Starkiller. _He came back for me._ "

Luke swallowed hard, able to hear all the things she wasn't saying. That no one else had ever come back for her before. That that was all that she had ever wanted. He took one look at the familiar stubborn set of her jaw and knew there would be no dissuading her. She came by that particular trait honestly.

"Well," he said with a small sigh, "I suppose I should pack my things then."

Rey smiled brightly, and he couldn't help but smile himself as he took in the dimples in her cheeks that she had had since she was baby. A sight he never thought he'd see again.

"Good," she said brightly. "I don't think the General would be very happy if I came back without you."

He chuckled lowly, he couldn't imagine that his sister didn't at least have an inkling of who Rey was, and knew that there was no way he would allow her to leave Ahch-To without him. He'd just gotten his daughter back, he wasn't going to let her back out of his life so easily.

It didn't take long for Luke to gather up his few belongings, and before the sun was high in the sky the pair was making their way down the mountain to where the Falcon was waiting for them.

"So tell me," Luke asked when he spotted Chewie and R2-D2 waiting for them in the shade of the freighter. "How angry is your Aunt at me for leaving?"

"I think she'll just be happy to have you back, it's Artoo you're going to need to win over," Rey said casually, pointing at the droid. "He had some very," she laughed as she considered how to describe it, "colorful things to say about you on the flight here."

Luke shook his head, knowing all too well the attitude his faithful droid had. "I can only imagine."

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A/N And there we have it, the beginning of a new story... next time Rey, Luke and co. make it back to D'Qar and more reunions are had! So anyways, I will love you all forever if you would let me know what you thought, because posting in new fandoms always makes me nervous... Thanks for reading!


	2. Ties That Bind Part 2

A/N *pokes head in* anyone still out there? So this chapter has been sitting on my hard drive about 70 percent done for over a year now, and I just got distracted by life and never got back around to finishing it. With the new movie coming out tomorrow I figured I might as well finish it up in celebration for that, even though this will now officially be an AU... I only gave it one read over so it's pretty fresh off the presses/un-betaed so please excuse any typos I might have missed...

Hope you enjoy it!

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Rey brought the Millennium Falcon in for a smooth landing on their return to D'Qar, Chewbacca in the co-pilot's seat and her father standing at her shoulder.

There wasn't the same kind of welcome party as had gathered to see her off on her mission, and she suspected that was the General's doing, not wanting to make a spectacle of her brother. However, even though Rey had only spent a few weeks on base before departing to Ahch-To, it was long enough to realize that there was a suspiciously high number of resistance members all milling around the tarmac attempting to look busy, all of them eager to catch of glimpse of the legendary master Jedi.

Paying them no mind, she and Chewie made quick work of the shutdown procedures and the three of them plus R2-D2 made their way to gangplank. Rey made to exit the ship as soon as it was lowered, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her in her tracks. Looking at the man next to her with questioning eyes, the old Jedi only shook his head slightly as the Wookie and the droid took their leave. She understood though, when someone began to make their way onto the ship.

Some reunions deserve their privacy.

"Leia," Luke greeted in an exhale of breath.

"Luke," she returned in kind, pulling him into a fierce hug.

Rey stood off to the side watching the siblings embrace. A part of her felt that she should look away, but she couldn't stop herself from staring. This was her father and her aunt. This was her family. She had a family. It was small, and it was broken, but it was hers.

She could hear him speaking low into Leia's ear as he clutched her tight, but Rey didn't even try to make out what he was saying. If his his words had been meant for her, he would have spoken them aloud.

After several long moments the two pulled apart and Leia turned her attention to Rey.

"Thank you Rey," Leia said taking Rey's hands in her own. "For bringing back my wayward brother. And so quickly too." The general could do the math. Ten days to Ahch-To and ten days back, meant that she couldn't have even spent two full days on the faraway world before turning back around. She'd actually been surprised when she received word of the Falcon's imminent arrival, sure that Luke would take some coaxing before returning back to civilization.

"I didn't really have much of a choice," Luke said warmly, watching the two women he cared about most in the galaxy with love in his eyes. "Your niece made it very clear that her place was with the Resistance and that she was returning, whether I followed or not."

Rey couldn't stop the smile from spreading wide across her face when Leia's entire countenance lit up when Luke revealed their familial connection.

"I had hoped my darling," Leia murmured as she enveloped her long lost niece into a crushing hug. "I had so much hope." When she pulled back, Leia lifted her hands to rest on Rey's cheeks. "Later we'll sit down and have a long talk, just you and me. But for now there is a certain droid outside who hasn't stopped talking about how excited he is that you were coming back since we got word of your impending arrival. And I think its master is eagerly waiting to see you as well."

Rey's eyes lit up and she practically ran down the ramp, Luke and Leia following at a more sedate pace.

"She looks so much like you, when you were her age."

"No," Leia shook her head, before smiling at her brother. "She looks like our mother."

"Did you know she was Reyssa?" Luke questioned his sister, watching as his daughter eagerly made her way towards a pilot, easily distinguishable in his bright orange jumpsuit, who was clearly waiting for her across the tarmac next to a black X-Wing, a BB unit at his feet.

"I had a feeling," she admitted, looping her arm through his. "But I felt like it was your place to confirm it. Han was certain though."

"Was he?" he asked.

The droid noticed Rey first and whistled and beeped wildly as it abandoned its post and rushed off to meet her, the pilot only a few steps behind.

"Oh yes," Leia nodded. "He offered her a job on the Falcon just hours after they met."

Luke's eyebrows arched in surprise. To someone who didn't understand Han Solo like they did, that might not mean much, but he understood the weight of such an offer.

The droid reached her first, and Rey crouched down to its level to greet it with an affectionate pat on its dome. But as soon as the pilot caught up to them she was back on her feet. Luke and Leia were too far away from the pair to hear what they were saying, but there was a lot of enthusiastic hand gestures and the BB unit was rolling in circles around their feet. When Rey let out an excited squeal and threw her arms around the pilot's neck, then grabbed his hand and effectively dragged him along as she ran towards the base, Luke looked at his sister curiously.

"A friend of hers woke from a coma three days ago," Leia answered the question in his eyes. "He's still on bedrest or else he would have been out here waiting for her as well."

"Finn." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes, that's right," she answered anyways.

"An ex-stormtrooper," he said with a small amount of wonder in his voice. "Who would have thought."

Leia chuckled lightly. "It's a first for me as well. He's a good boy though. You'll like him. The first thing he did after waking from a coma was to ask if Rey was okay. Trust me, it's only because he can't actually physically walk right now, that kept the med droids from having to restrain him from coming to meet her regardless of the fact he took a lightsaber to the back several weeks ago."

"It's good she has people that care about her."

She took pity on her brother, seeing the hunger in his eyes for any information of his daughter and told him more of the observations she had made in the time she had been on base. "For someone who by her own admission, had never had a friend before and lived the mostly solitary life of a scavenger for the past fourteen years, she is quick to inspire loyalty in those she chooses to let in. Poe has spent the last week practically haunting communications hoping to overhear the transmission of when she would be returning."

"Poe is the pilot?"

Leia nodded. "The best in the Resistance. It was touch and go the first few days, Rey is not quick to trust new people, but they bonded quickly holding vigil at Finn's bedside. And then of course they spent quite a bit of time together when he helped her with the repairs the Falcon needed before she could leave to fetch you."

"She talked about Finn a great deal on the flight back," Luke mentioned. "She never mentioned Poe."

Leia arched an eyebrow. "Interesting," she said slowly, a knowing smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

"What do you mean?" Luke asked, he was beginning to feel that perhaps he had gone too long without interacting with anyone other than Force ghosts. His sister clearly inferred more meaning in Rey's actions than he could currently see.

"Come Luke," Leia said ignoring his question as she led him towards her quarters, he would figure it out for himself eventually. "We have much to talk about."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Rey dragged a laughing Poe all the to the infirmary, not stopping until they were standing in the doorway to Finn's room. He was sitting almost upright, propped up by several pillows, engrossed in whatever was on the data pad that was in his hands. Looking up from his reading, his face split into a wide grin when he saw his visitors.

"Finn!" Rey exclaimed excitedly, dropping Poe's hand to launch herself onto Finn's bed for a hug before she caught herself, teetering wildly for a moment before she regained her balance at the edge of his cot.

"It's okay," Finn said spreading his arms wide, "my back is all healed, you're not going to hurt me."

Rey didn't need to hear anything else before she had her friend wrapped up in a tight hug, which he easily returned. "I'm so glad you're okay," she told him, not letting go. "They told me you would be alright before I left, but I was so worried."

"I was worried about you too," Finn admitted. "When you weren't here when I woke up I was afraid something happened to you on Starkiller."

Rey pulled back so he could sit back against his pillows again, but remained perched on the edge of his bed, taking one of his hands in hers. "I am so sorry I wasn't here when you woke up, I didn't want to leave, and I came back as quick as I could, but I had to-"

"It's okay," Finn interrupted her apology before she could continue. "I know, and I completely understand. Poe explained everything."

When Finn looked past her, Rey glanced over her shoulder to see that Poe had taken the visitor's chair and was watching their reunion with an easy grin on his face. Giving him a grateful nod, she turned back her first friend. "But if your back is all healed, what are you still doing in here?" she asked, worried there was something he wasn't telling her.

"Oh, well my actual injury is healed," Finn explained, "but Ren did damage to my spine. The doctors fixed it but it's taking longer for my brain to remember how to talk to my legs. But they're saying that as long as I keep working at my physical therapy I should be up and walking like nothing ever happened in a few weeks. Then I'll be able to really help the Resistance."

There was a tinge of desperation in his eyes that made Rey's brow furrow.

"It's okay buddy," Poe interjected, reaching out to pat Finn's knee, joining the conversation for the first time since they had arrived. "You take as long as you need to get back on your feet. No one is going to rush you. We want you to get better, because we want _you_ to get better. Not for any other reason but that." BB-8 whistled his agreement from where he was sitting next to his Poe's chair. "Beebee-Ate says that we take care of own," he translated for his droid.

As Finn closed his eyes and seemed to force himself to relax into his pillows, Rey got the impression that this wasn't the first time the two had had this conversation, but she didn't understand the underlying meaning. She glanced over at Poe who gave her a minute shake of his head, asking her without words not to press the issue. Confused and concerned she made a mental note to ask Poe about this later.

"So um, was your mission successful?" Finn asked opening his eyes once he'd visibly regrouped. "Did you actually find him?"

"Oh, yeah I found him right where the map said he'd be," Rey said, reassuring him that all their troubles hadn't been for nothing. "He's with the General right now. They have a lot of catching up to do."

"So what's _The_ Luke Skywalker like?" Finn asked curiously.

Rey could sense Poe leaning in as well, equally as curious.

"He's... " She didn't even know where to begin. "He's not what I expected."

"What does that mean?"

She shrugged a bit helplessly, unsure how to explain it properly. "Well, you'll see for yourself," she eventually said. "He wants to meet you."

"Wants to meet _me_?!" Finn squeaked. "I'm nobody, why would Luke Skywalker want to meet me?!"

"You're not nobody," Rey corrected. "You're my friend. Why wouldn't he want to meet you? I told him the whole story of how we met and how we got the map to the Resistance. I told him how you saved my life. Of course he wants to meet you."

Rey imagined that the expression on Finn's face would have been much of the same if she had slapped him.

"He wants to meet you too Beebee-ate," she informed the droid

Rey didn't think it was possible for a droid speaking binary to sound faint, but BB-8 managed it as he let out a long series of beeps and whistles before hiding behind Finn's bed. Making all three of them laugh at the little droid's antics.

Rey and Finn talked late into the evening catching up on everything the other had missed while they were separated, while Poe was content to simply listen to the pair, only interjecting occasionally. They could have kept going long into the night, but eventually the medi-droid came over to kick out Finn's visitors, insisting that he needed his rest.

Rey gave Finn another hug and promised to come back and see him the next day, before she and Poe left the infirmary, BB-8 trailing behind them.

"I didn't realize it had gotten so late," Rey mused as they walked down the quiet hall, her internal clock off kilter from all of her traveling.

"We missed dinner too. When was the last time you ate?" he asked her with concern in his eyes. He didn't know how many times he had to remind her of meal times when he was helping her repair the Falcon, before she left for Ahch-To.

She had to think about it. "I had breakfast."

Poe shook his head, "You must be starving."

Rey's only answer was a half hearted shrug. She'd quickly learned that most of the members of the Resistance, with its steady supply of food at the ready, had a very different definition of what _starving_ meant.

"Come on, let's go raid the kitchens. I know where the cooks hide all the best stuff," he told her with a wink before leading the way. "Why don't you go sit down," he offered as they entered the deserted dining hall, "and I'll go scrounge something up."

While she waited Rey retrieved a pitcher of water and two glasses from the beverage station that was kept stocked around the clock. Even after her weeks with the Resistance the abundant availability of both water and food still amazed her. She sat down at an out of the way table with BB-8, who had chosen to stay with her rather than follow his master, while they waited.

"You are in for a treat," Poe announced his presence, as he walked through the swinging doors from the kitchen, with two plates piled high with an assortment of fresh fruit. "We got a huge shipment of fresh produce a couple days ago," he said, sliding into the seat across from her, pushing one of the plates across the table. "I figured you haven't had most of these and thought you'd enjoy some."

Rey's eyes went wide as she took in the spread in front of her, almost reverently picking up a dark purple berry popping it into her mouth. She couldn't hold back the moan as she bit down on the fruit and the flavorful berry exploded in her mouth. "This is the best thing I've ever tasted," she gushed. "What is this?"

"That's a plasmaberry," Poe explained with a wide grin. As he had gotten to know her and started to learn the scope of her upbringing, he'd taken it upon himself to make it his personal mission to introduce Rey to all the things she'd missed out on, growing up the way she did. And introducing her to new foods was right at the top of the list. "Here try one of the blumfruits," he suggested pointing to the large, red, egg shaped berry.

Rey brought the fruit to her lips and took a bite, her eyes going wide when the dark red juice started running down her chin and hand. "It's so messy," she said, wiping the errant juice off her chin with the back of her hand, not that it helped much.

"Sorry, I should have warned you about those," he apologized with a grin, handing her a napkin. "There's a reason people juice these for breakfast, or let it ferment into wine," he mentioned, taking a bite of one from his own plate, managing not to make a mess, but only from years of practice.

Rey quickly devoured two more blumfruits, before trying another one of the fruits on her plate.

Poe couldn't stop the laugh that escaped his throat when Rey's entire face puckered as soon as she bit down. "Not a fan of the emerald grapes?" he asked, still chuckling when Rey gulped down half a glass of water, trying to wash the taste out of her mouth.

"People eat those?" she asked dubiously. "On _purpose_?"

"Some people like the way they taste," he shrugged, plucking one off his own plate and popping it into his mouth as proof, enjoying the sharp tart taste even if Rey didn't. "Try the koyo melon," he offered, when she just sat and watched him eat the grapes like he was insane. "I promise they're not sour."

Rey picked up a wedge of the sliced, pale orange melon with the slightest of hesitation. It wasn't that she thought Poe was trying to poison her, but once bitten twice shy. She took a nibble of one corner, and as soon as it hit her taste buds she was already taking a larger bite. "No, _this_ is the best thing I've ever tasted," she amended her earlier statement.

"I'm glad you like it," Poe said pleased. "I actually grew up on a koyo melon farm," he mentioned, eating a slice of it from his own plate. "Koyo's as far as you could see. I used to pluck them right off the vine and eat them still warm from the sun," he reminisced. "I would eat them until I got sick of them."

"I don't think I could ever get sick of these," Rey replied, taking another slightly too large bite.

Poe just grinned, utterly charmed by her enthusiasm. "So how did the Falcon do on the flight?" he asked curious about the repairs he'd helped her make before her trip had helped up. He'd heard everything else about her trip while she was talking to Finn, but their mutual friend didn't have the same interest in mechanics that they shared.

As they both steadily worked their way through their plates, Rey told him everything he wanted to know about the Falcon, also telling him about the adjustments she and Chewbacca had been able to make in transit and what she wanted to do now that they were grounded again. Poe was all too eager to interject with his own advice and input, as well as offer his services in helping her get the the ship to where she wanted it. After all it wasn't every day he got the chance to work on a legendary ship like the Falcon.

They could have talked ship repair all night, but Poe interrupted Rey's plans to upgrade the deflector shields when all she had left on her plate were the emerald grapes. "You don't have to eat those if you don't like them," he reminded her.

Rey froze with a grape halfway to her mouth. "I don't want to waste," she said softly. A lifetime of hunger still too ingrained in her soul to leave behind perfectly edible food just because it wasn't to her exact tastes.

"No need for waste," Poe said plucking the bunch off her plate and setting it on his own. "I'll eat them." Rey still looked like she wanted to protest until he traded her the koyo melon he hadn't eaten yet.

Rey gave him a grateful smile in thanks, which he easily returned. The moment stretched between them until the sound of the door swinging open caught both of their attention. Poe rose to his feet, and BB-8 hid shyly behind Rey, when the door swung open to admit the legendary Skywalker twins.

"At ease Dameron," Leia told him casually. "We're just here for some caf," she said as they made their way to the beverage bar.

While Leia made up her drink, Luke crossed over to the pair at the table.

"Master Skywalker," Poe greeted. "It's an honor to meet you. I'm Poe Dameron."

"You as well, Commander Dameron," Luke greeted in return. "I've heard a lot about you."

He glanced at Rey who shrunk slightly in her seat, knowing he hadn't heard about Poe from her. It wasn't on purpose, she just wasn't sure what to tell her father about her newest friend.

"I hear you're the reason I'm standing here at all," Luke continued.

"I just retrieved the map from Lor San Tekka," he said humbly. "Rey, Finn and Beebee-Ate did most of the heavily lifting, so to speak."

"Regardless, it was a mission I would only have sent my most trusted operative on," Leia said joining the conversation, handing a mug to her brother.

"Thank you General," Poe said, taking the complement with grace.

"I knew your mother," Luke mentioned. "She was one hell of a pilot."

"Yes Sir, she was," Poe agreed with a nod. "She taught me everything I know."

"Well from what my sister tells me, and if you're even half as good as your mother was, then I look forward to seeing you in action."

"I look forward to that as well, Sir."

Luke gave him a long speculative look, and it was all Poe could do not to squirm underneath the Master Jedi's gaze. He felt like the older man was looking into his very soul, and he didn't know enough about Jedi's to know if that was actually possible or not. Either way being the sole focus of a legend he'd grown up hearing bedtime stories about, was enough to make him dizzy.

"Come Luke," Leia interjected, laying a hand on her brother's shoulder. "Let's leave the young people to their night," she said, shooting Rey a wink behind Luke's back.

"Yes, well, we'll speak again in the future," Luke said to Poe, before turning his attention to his daughter. "Don't stay up too late, I want to get get an early start in the morning."

Rey, who had been silently watching the exchange, while she nibbled on her fruit, simply nodded.

"Goodnight Rey," Leia said giving her niece's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Goodnight Poe."

"Goodnight," Rey replied.

"Goodnight General," Poe echoed.

Poe watched as the General and the Jedi left the mess, their heads bowed towards each other as they spoke quietly while they walked away.

"Why do I feel like I've just been evaluated by arguably the most powerful man in the galaxy and been found wanting," he said wryly, as he sat back down heavily and BB-8 emerged from underneath the table, chirping his relief at escaping scrutiny.

"I think he was just curious about the friends I made before I went to go fetch him," Rey said with a slight frown.

"Are all Jedi Masters so protective of their Padawans?" he asked bemused, since he knew that she didn't have any more frame of reference than he did. But he did find the almost comical widening of her eyes when he asked curious. "What?"

"I don't think that was all because he's decided to train me," she confessed.

"What do you mean?" he asked intrigued.

Rey shoved nearly an entire slice of melon in her mouth at once, taking her time chewing to buy herself time before answering. Poe, seeing her actions for exactly what they were, was only more curious with every second that passed.

"We're friends right?" she finally asked tentatively, once she had swallowed.

"Of course we are," he assured her immediately.

"And I could tell you a secret and you would promise not to tell anyone?" she probed further, leaning in closer towards him despite the fact there was no one in earshot.

"Absolutely," he told her, honest sincerity written all over his face.

"I don't know that it's an actual secret, or if it's just something that everyone doesn't know yet. But I know I'm not going to go around telling people because I don't really want everyone to know yet, although I'm sure it will come out eventually," she rambled, her brow furrowed.

Poe reached out and gently rested one of his hands on top of hers. "Rey, tell me or don't tell me, you don't have too. But if you want to talk to me, I promise to keep your confidences."

Rey searched his eyes for a long moment, and apparently finding what she was looking for blurted, "Luke Skywalker... is my father."

Poe blinked once, twice, and then again. "Whoa."

"Yeah," Rey agreed.

That was not at all what he was expecting to hear, but he supposed it made a certain bit of sense. And it definitely put the conversation he had just had with the Jedi in a different light.

"Wait," Poe said as the other implications of her announcement hit him, "if Skywalker is your father, that means General Organa is-"

"My aunt," Rey confirmed what he already knew.

"Kriff," he exhaled heavily.

"Yeah," she repeated starting to look a little nervous. "But it doesn't change anything," she added in a rush. "I'm still just a scavenger from Jakku. We're still friends right?"

Poe's gaze snapped to hers when he realized the anxiety his reaction was causing her. He could try to come to grips with the fact that his newest friend, and the girl he had found himself almost immediately enamored with and fascinated by, was the legacy of one of the most influential family dynasties in the galaxy, the daughter of the man he grew up hearing bedtime stories about and the niece of his own personal idol later.

"Of course we're still friends," he assured her immediately. "And I don't think you could ever _just_ be something if you tried," Poe added with a gentle smile.

Rey felt her cheeks warm and ducked her head in a futile attempt to hide it. Casting about for some way to change the subject, she said the first thing that popped into her mind.

"Do you wanna see what I did with the power core?" she asked.

"I'd love to," Poe agreed easily, happy for the excuse to walk her back to the Falcon.

He quickly bussed their used plates, and they walked outside in companionable silence, BB-8 trailing behind them.

Once on board the Falcon, Rey showed off all her and Chewie's work, and the pair started brainstorming a game plan on what to tackle next. They could have talked shop until the sun rose without even realizing it, but Chewbacca's return to the Falcon reminded them how late it had gotten.

"I should get inside, morning comes awfully early around here," Poe said regretfully. "Sorry we don't have any more spare beds on base," he added, feeling bad that she had to stay out on the tarmac at night.

"I don't mind, I like sleeping on the Falcon," Rey shrugged. "I lived in an AT-AT back on Jakku," she added. "So the tight quarters and the steel walls are all kind of familiar to me. I'm used to it."

"Well don't get too used to it."

Rey looked at him askance and Poe realized the way that sounded.

"I just mean we're moving bases soon, and since you're sticking around you'll be assigned your own room on base." Poe frowned as a thought occurred to him. "You are sticking around right?" he asked worried that maybe Skywalker would be taking her away to complete her Jedi training in solitude.

"No," Rey said quickly. "I mean yes, I'm not going anywhere."

"Good! I'm glad. I'm just really glad you're back Rey," Poe said, one corner of his mouth curling up. "I missed having you around."

"I'm glad I'm back too. I missed being around," she replied coyly.

The moment stretched out for several long beats as the pair looked at each other neither quite sure what to do next.

"Welp! I should let you get some sleep," Poe said a touch louder than he had intended. "I'll see you tomorrow." He clapped her on the shoulder before turning on a heel and heading off the ship. "Have a good night Rey!" he called over his shoulder, not turning around so she wouldn't see the pained grimace on his face.

"Uh, yeah, you too!" A slightly bewildered Rey replied to his retreating back. "Goodnight!"

"Real smooth Dameron," Poe muttered under his breath as he stomped down the gangplank, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. "What the hell is wrong with you, you kriffing nerf herder."

"Who's a nerf herder?"

Poe froze like a bantha caught in headlights. Because of course standing right in front of him was was none other than Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker.

"General, Master Skywalker!" he sputtered. "I was just walking Rey back, making sure she got here in one piece. Not that anything would have happened, or that she can't take care of herself. Because she can. Take care of herself, I mean. She just wanted to show me under her hood. The Falcon's, I mean! Rey wanted to talk about the mods she's done the past couple of weeks." Poe was suddenly painfully aware that the pair standing in front of him were twins as they we're looking at him with the exact same dubious expression. Although a darting glance at his feet told him that even his faithful droid was looking up at him like he should quit while he was ahead.

Eventually Leia took pity on her pilot. "Don't you have the new training rosters to be writing up Commander?"

"Yes General," Poe said, gratefully taking the out. "I'll have them done and sent to you by morning."

"I'll look out for it."

Not trusting himself to actually open his mouth again, Poe gave them a half hearted salute, before walking as quickly as he could without it looking like he was running away, all the while wondering what about that whole family turned him into a such a moof-milker.

"He's your best pilot and most trusted operative?" A bemused Luke asked his sister once Poe was out of earshot.

"Well he's usually far more composed and charming." Leia smirked, she hadn't seen him that flustered since the first time he had met her. "You make him nervous. Congratulations you're more intimidating than the First Order."

Luke frowned. "He seemed okay in the mess."

"Yes, but I suspect that was before he knew you're Rey's father," she replied with a grin. Leia watched her brother's face and waited for the moment it clicked.

"He likes her." His frown deepened.

"They say that history repeats itself," Leia said enigmatically. "That doesn't always have to be a bad thing."

* * *

A/N alright there it is, I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you thought!


	3. Always Have Time For You

A/N HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! Alrighty, so I originally conceived this as a series of one/two shots all set in the same interconnected universe, but not necessarily all being one narrative story, however there's no real good way to link stories into a series on this site so I'm just gonna add this next one shot to the same story so they're easier to find. So going forward expect any further chapters to this story to be in that format.

* * *

ALWAYS HAVE TIME FOR YOU

Rey stepped up to the door, raised her hand to knock, lowered it just as quickly before turning on her heel and stalking away. She only made it about ten paces before she stopped and grumbled annoyed at herself. She was no coward and she could knock on a simple door. Shoring her shoulders she spun back around and marched back up to the door.

But it was awfully early.

Maybe it was _too_ early?

She had yet to break her habit waking with sun. Growing up on a desert planet it was imperative to be an early riser, doing any necessary traveling outside before the hottest part of day was important. But she learned quickly that while the Resistance never _really_ slept, most of its members did not start their daily routine as early as she did. Perhaps she should come back later.

This time she only made it about three steps away before the delicate clearing of someone's throat had her stopping in her tracks. Spinning around once more, she stopped short when she saw that instead of a closed door, Leia Organa was standing, looking more than a little amused, in the open doorway. She wasn't yet dressed for the day, her robe sashed tight over her sleepwear, but the alertness in her eyes spoke to the fact that she had been awake for some time.

"I got bored of waiting to see when you would actually knock," Leia explained, an amused grin playing at the corners of her mouth.

Rey's face flushed pink. "You knew I was out here the whole time?" she asked sheepishly.

"Well, you were practically shouting at me through the Force," Leia told her, making the color in the Rey's cheeks deepen. "My brother really needs to work on your shields with you."

"I'm so sorry," she apologized, bringing her hands up to cover her burning cheeks.

"Don't be my dear," she said stepping back from the door and gesturing the younger woman inside.

Glancing up and down the corridor as if she was worried about someone seeing her entering the General's rooms, Rey hurried inside. Standing awkwardly just inside the door, she looked at her surroundings, her eyes never landing on any one thing for long, before darting to something else.

"Now what had you pacing the hallway in front of my door so early this morning?" Leia asked, seemingly at complete ease, even has the tension rolled off of Rey. "I was just having some tea while I was reading over the latest reconnaissance reports. Would you like a cup?"

"Oh, I just wanted to ask for a favor, but if you're busy I can come back another day," Rey said in a rush. "I don't want to take up your time."

"Nonsense Rey," Leia said quickly shutting down that train of thought. "I always have time for you. Come sit down sweetheart," she added patting the space on the sofa next to her.

Rey crossed over to the couch and perched on the edge of the seat looking like she still might bolt. Leia placed a comforting hand on her forearm trying to figure out what could possibly have her niece so worked up. In the weeks since she and Luke had returned from Ahch-To she had steadily been building a relationship with the girl, the three of them even making an effort to share an evening meal together every few days as they relearned how to be a family. But she'd never seen her so unsure of herself, usually Rey faced every day and every new challenge with her shoulders squared and her chin high.

"Now tell me, what can I do for you?"

Rey took a deep breath, clearly steeling herself before making her request. "I was wondering if you could help me with my hair?"

Leia blinked once, but kept any other expression of surprise off her face. Of all the favors she might expect her to ask for, that was not one of them. "What about your hair?" she asked neutrally. It had obviously taken a lot for Rey to ask, and she didn't want to put her off accidently.

"I want to change it, but I don't know how to do anything else with it," she admitted. "This is the only way I've ever worn it. And you always do your hair so nice I thought maybe you could help me?" she asked with a cringe. Rey was already regretting her request, after all Leia was the leader of the entire resistance, surely she had better things to do then help a clueless scavenger with her hair.

"I'd be happy to," Leia said immediately, not having to think twice before answering.

"Really?" Rey asked, genuine surprise written all over her face.

"Of course," she assured her with a gentle smile. "Wait here, I'll be right back."

Leia disappeared into her bedroom, it only taking a moment to find the hairbrush she was looking for. This particular bone handled brush was actually part of a set given to her by Rey's mother several years before the girl was born. When she reentered the sitting room, Rey was already pulling her hair down from its customary three knobs. Her hair was actually much longer than Leia had expected, her usual hairstyle disguising its length, and it fell down her back in soft waves. Crossing back over to her niece, she tossed a pillow onto the ground in front of the sofa.

"You're going to have to sit on the floor or else you'll be too tall for me. You didn't get your height from our side of the family," she teased, since Rey was half a foot taller than her, and almost as tall as Luke was.

Once Rey was situated on the pillow, her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her shins, Leia began brushing out her hair, making sure it was free of tangles before she began styling it. Leia couldn't help but be reminded of her own childhood, sitting at her mother's feet getting her own hair brushed lovingly. They had attendants who could have done it for her, but Breha Organa always took the time out of her evening routine to spend time with her daughter and brush her hair out before bed. It was one of the fondest memories she held of her mother.

"What are you doing?" Rey asked curiously, glancing over her shoulder. "I mean, what are you using to comb my hair?"

"A brush?" Leia responded, not exactly sure what to make of her question. "It's a mazor bristle brush so it's good for your hair and feels nice on your scalp. Do you not like it? I could stop."

"No!" Rey exclaimed a bit more vehemently than she initially intended. "It feels nice. Really nice."

"Okay good," Leia said, going back to what she was doing. "What do you usually use to comb your hair?"

"My fingers mostly," Rey answered with a careless shrug of her shoulders.

Leia didn't comment on that, but continued to brush Rey's hair for much longer than was strictly necessary, watching as all of the girl's earlier tension bled out of her shoulders at the soothing repetitive movements. She was pretty sure she'd be purring if humans were a species that did so.

"Do you mind if I ask a question?" Leia asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Hmmm?" Rey hummed her assent in her almost trance like state.

"Why now?"

She didn't answer right away and Leia wasn't sure if she was going to.

"It's just time I guess," she finally said. "I don't need to keep it the same anymore."

"What do you mean?" Leia probed further, even though she was pretty sure of the answer.

"I kept my hair the same way the whole time I was on Jakku," Rey explained softly. "I guess I was hoping it would help my family recognize me when they came back for me, even though I'd grown up."

That was about what she was expecting to hear, but all the same Leia was glad that Rey's back was to her and her niece couldn't see her face, since she couldn't stop the pang of guilt that passed over her countenance. Rey often mistook her and Luke's guilt, whenever she mentioned a new bit of information from her life on Jakku, for pity and that was the last thing the young woman wanted.

Placing the brush on the side table next to the sofa, Leia ran her fingers through Rey's hair. "How would you like me to do it?"

"I don't care, I trust you," Rey responded easily. "Just up and out of my face for training today."

"That I can do."

Leia found herself enjoying the methodical task of braiding Rey's hair. She always did her own, but it had been a long time since she had been able to do someone else's, and it was much easier to do one of the more complicated styles on someone else's head.

"It's more fitting then you know that you came to me for this," Leia mentioned as she worked a few smaller braids into a larger one crossing diagonally across the back of Rey's head.

"What do you mean?" Rey asked curiously.

"I was the one to first put your hair up into those three knobs," she revealed.

"Really?" Rey asked, her interest piqued as it did whenever she got new information about her past prior to Jakku.

"And would you like to know why?" Leia asked, already explaining before Rey even had to ask. "You and your parents had come to visit us on Hosnian Prime just a few weeks before…" she trailed off for just a moment. She didn't have to say before what, they both knew. "And your father and your uncle were _supposed_ to be watching you, and can I say they weren't doing a very good job of it," she revealed making Rey laugh lightly. "And you, little miss trouble, found a pair of scissors in my desk drawer."

"Oh no," Rey groaned, already knowing where this story was going.

"Oh yes," Leia replied, her smile clear in her tone as she recalled the story. "And you thought it would be a marvelous idea to give yourself a haircut."

"I didn't!" she cried at her younger self.

"You did, and none of it was the same length," Leia confirmed. "And just like now, you didn't like having your hair in your face, so the knobs were the only way I could get all of your hair up at one time."

"How much trouble was I in?" she asked curiously.

"Actually, not that much," Leia told her. "After all, no one had specifically told you not to cut your own hair before. And how upset you were when we had to cut your almost waist length hair off at your shoulders was punishment enough. Luke and Han were in far more trouble since they were supposed to be the ones watching you. And honestly, those scissors were so sharp they were lucky that your hair was the only thing you cut."

"I wish I could remember," Rey said so softly Leia almost didn't hear her.

"I wish you could too darling," Leia agreed, as she continued to braid. "But your father still believes some of your memories might start coming back now that the Force block is off your mind."

Rey made some kind of noise from the back of her throat, that could have been agreement or simply been acknowledgement that she had heard her speak.

"In the meantime," Leia continued, "I'll just have to keep telling you stories. For example, you were born with a full head of hair, and it grew like a weed from day one."

"It still does," Rey confirmed. "When it starts to get too heavy I use my knife to cut some off."

Well, Leia thought, that certainly explained the ragged and uneven ends she had noticed when she had been brushing out her hair. She made a mental note offer her a proper haircut at some point in the near future.

Tying a leather cord around the base of her new braid, Leia took a moment to admire her handiwork. "You're all set sweetheart," she announced, giving Rey's shoulders a gentle squeeze. "Go take a look and see what you think."

Rey was up off the floor and on her feet with a grace and nimbleness that made Leia miss her more youthful days. She followed the girl over to the mirror on the wall at a slower pace.

Meanwhile Rey was twisting and turning in front of the mirror trying to see her new hairstyle as best she could. It looked deceptively simple for how intricate the braidwork was. Smaller braids all woven into a much larger braid that started above her right temple and ended hanging over her left shoulder. It was perfect.

"It looks so pretty," Rey murmured, bringing a tentative hand up to her hair. "I hardly even recognize myself."

"That style is very flattering on you dear, but you're a beautiful young woman Rey. No matter how your hair is styled," Leia told her, meeting her eyes in the mirror from over her shoulder and giving her a playful wink. "It runs in the family after all."

Rey laughed brightly and turned to wrap the older woman in a hug, pressing an impulsive kiss to her cheek. "Thank you Aunt Leia."

"Of course my darling," Leia said, giving her an extra squeeze, her own happy smile wide across her face. Neither she nor Luke had wanted to press the issue of titles, just happy to have her back in their lives, but that was the first time Rey had called her Aunt Leia since she was a little girl and it made her heart swell with feeling until she was sure it might burst.

"You know who else I think will find your new look quite becoming?" Leia asked leadingly as Rey pulled out of her embrace, an eyebrow quirked curiously. "Commander Dameron."

"Uh… umm… what?" Rey sputtered looking scandalized, even as her cheeks pinkened. "I don't know what you mean by that. We're just friends."

"Mhmm," Leia hummed disbelievingly. She wasn't blind, she saw the way her niece and her hot shot pilot looked at each other. It seemed to her that appearances weren't the only thing that ran in their family. "I also know that he was on patrol last night and should have landed just a few minutes ago and will likely be looking for a hot meal before he gets some rest. You should go find yourself some breakfast as well."

Rey sputtered some more. "Yes well, only because sometimes I get light headed if I don't eat before training."

Leia chuckled to herself as Rey practically fled her quarters. She'd just wait and see how long her insistence that they were only friends lasted.

That night when Rey returned to her quarters, she was surprised, but pleased to find the carved bone handled brush, along with a matching hand mirror and comb sitting on her pillow. Perching on the edge of her bed she took a moment to run her fingertips over the fine items that she knew were older than she was. With a soft smile on her face she picked up the piece of folded flimsy that was tucked underneath the thoughtful gift.

Opening the note she read the message written in her Aunt's graceful handwriting. _Anytime_. It said underlined three times for emphases. And underneath that it said, _I mean it. I always have time for you._

Rey went to bed that night with a smile on her face.

The next morning she simply tamed any flyaways with a bit of water and went about her morning, the braid still presentable for another day. The third day she reverted back to her three knobbed hairstyle. But on the fourth day she found herself back in front of the General's door, the gifted brush clasped in one hand while she brought the other one up to knock, testing the validity of the _anytime_ offer.

When Leia answered the door with a smile and a pleased sparkle in her eye, Rey knew she had meant it. That day she accepted the offer of tea.

And so it became a bit of habit between the two women, every few days Rey would show up at her Aunt's door, brush in hand. In time it became less and less about her hair, Leia having taught her a number of styles simple enough for her niece to do on her own. But they both still enjoyed the ritual of it. What was important was the quiet time they spent together before the rest of the base started their busy days.

Leia would tell her stories. Sometimes about Rey's childhood before she was left on Jakku, or about her own childhood growing up as a princess on Alderaan. Sometimes they were stories of herself, her uncle and her father during their time in the Rebellion. Other times the tales she told were lessons in disguise, teaching Rey about diplomacy, or history, or simply how life in other parts of the galaxy functioned.

And Rey would tell Leia about her training, about her adventures with her new found friends. And she would ask questions, so many questions. She would ask about social mores that she had never learned raising herself on the outer rim. Whenever someone made a reference to something that everyone seemed to understand but her, she would file it away until she could ask her Aunt. And she would ask for advice about her growing feelings for someone who was definitely not a hot shot pilot named Poe Dameron.

Rey really liked having family.

* * *

A/N and there we have it! I personally have a lot of... thoughts... and feelings... about TLJ and my big final take away on it is that I'm gonna keep living in my AU world like this one, so let me know what you guys thought and if you're still interested in my little AU here :D


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